This is episode 116 of the Baehr and Curadh podcast. We are going to talk about the zoo.
There are more than 2,800 zoos and aquariums in the world.
It is estimated that over 600 million people visit zoos each year. That is more people than all the sporting events and concerts combined.
29 zoos and aquariums in the USA have more than a million visitors a year.
The oldest running zoo in the world is Vienna Zoo in Schonbrunn Austria, which dates from 1752.
The Philadelphia Zoo was opened on July 1st, 1874 and is the oldest zoo in the USA.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has about 124 thousand individual animals and the largest number of animals in any zoo in the world.
Animal print clothes are banned at the Chessington World of Adventures in the United Kingdom.
A zoo in Henan Province, China, displayed fake wild animals. The animals displayed included a Tibetan mastiff posed as an African lion, giant sea cucumbers posed as snakes, and dogs dressed up as leopards and timber wolves.
Wild elephants live longer than elephants in zoos. Zoo-born elephants live for only 17 to 19 years. Elephants in the wild live an average of 56 years.
Animals being transferred between zoos and veterinarians must have armed guards to prevent them from being stolen.
Chinese zoos have turned to using animals for circus-like performances such as being made to jump through burning hoops and balancing on balls.
Zoochosis is a portmanteau of zoo and psychosis. It refers to abnormal, repetitive, and unnatural behaviors exhibited by animals in captivity.
A polar bear’s hair is not white. It’s colorless. Beneath this transparent fur, the skin is black.
A giraffe has seven bones in its neck, like all mammals, but they are much larger.
Hippos kill many more people every year than lions. Causing an estimated 500 deaths annually (as compared to only 25 for lions).
Adult bison are the largest land mammals in North America.
A giant tortoise from the Galápagos Islands can weigh up to 550 pounds – the same as a brown bear.
Otters have the densest fur of any mammal.
The lion has the loudest roar of all cats. It can be heard as far as 3 miles away.
Emperor penguins can stay underwater for up to 27 minutes and dive as far as 500 meters deep.
Flamingos and shrimp are actually both pink from eating algae that contains carotenoid pigments.
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